


backs to the wall

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!, Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: M/M, Violence, slowish build???, will be mentions of blood/injuries/getting sick/smoking/alcohol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-14
Updated: 2014-09-14
Packaged: 2018-02-17 10:13:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2306018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If the world was ending, Daichi wanted to be by Suga's side while it ended.</p>
            </blockquote>





	backs to the wall

**July, 2016**

“It’s not about skill, or strength.” The head instructor stood at the head of the Kwoon Combat Room. It wasn’t anything near to as equipped or specialized as the Kwoon in the Shatterdomes, but the Jaeger Academy had to make do with what they had.

“You’ve all survived your first and second trimesters here,” she continued, shoulders squared and her hands clasped behind her back. “You all know how to fight, here, and in the drift. This isn’t about who’s stronger or more skillful. This is about compatibility.”

Daichi swallowed heavily, glancing to his left and his right. All of the trainees were gathered in the room, listening carefully to their instructor’s words. “We’re not testing your fighting capabilities – we just want to get an idea of which of you are drift compatible.”

A murmur ran through the crowd of trainees. Daichi’s hands clenched into fists.

“In the drift, your physical strength is irrelevant. The same goes here; two drift compatible people will fight fluidly regardless of how strong or weak they both are. The strongest person in this room mightn’t be able to land a hit on the weakest person if they’re drift compatible. That’s how it works; when you’re compatible, it’s not a fight, not really.”

She paused for a moment. “When your name is called, prepare to spar with your opponent.”

Eight names were called – four matches would go on at a time. They were over quickly; the instructors seemed to be able to tell after a few moves whether or not it was going to work.

Daichi was anxious. He had wanted to become a Ranger since the first kaiju was defeated by a Jaeger.

So, he, like so many others had joined the Jaeger Academy. The days were tough – on both body and spirit – but he held onto his dream. At night, he would hear of more successes, more wins for mankind achieved by the Rangers, and he would become even more determined.

It was what he remembered when his body ached, when he felt like giving up, or crying, or dropping from his feet. He needed to do this if he ever wanted to step foot inside a Conn-Pod.

But there was one hitch; he couldn’t pilot a Jaeger alone.

Daichi had heard the stories – of trainees who had exceeded expectations, only to fail to drift with anyone. That was one of his biggest fears – he could train his body to fight, he could train his mind to withstand everything – but he couldn’t train himself to be drift compatible.

If he didn’t find a partner…

No. He couldn’t think like that. He was Sawamura Daichi, for crying out loud; top of his class in nearly every field. He was going to become a Ranger.

“Sawamura Daichi.”

His name was called. He gulped, feeling his palms slick with sweat, and he walked over to the far corner, where the fourth sparring area was. Two instructors stood nearby, watching him intently.

They called another name – Daichi didn’t quite catch it – and the whistle blew.

If there was one thing Daichi knew, it was that holding back wouldn’t do either of them any favors. If he was going to drift with someone, they would be able to hold their own against him.

He struck out, hitting his partner in the shoulder. His partner stumbled backwards, and Daichi followed through with a high kick. His partner ducked just enough to avoid it, but by the time he had straightened up, Daichi had lowered himself to the ground, his leg swinging around to toss him off his feet.

This, Daichi could do.

In a way, he liked the physical burn of sparring. He could let his mind slip away, lose all unnecessary thoughts while he kept his concentration. It all became a series of motions; _duck, kick, dodge that right hook, send one of your own, grab his shoulder, flip him, parry that blow—_

 He barely noticed it when one of the instructors monitoring him blew their whistle. “Enough. Sawamura, stay. Kindaichi – rejoin the rest of the group.”

Damn. That was one down already – the anxiety and nerves hit him in the stomach harder than any punch.

It was more of the same with his next few opponents; he pinned the next to the ground in about ten seconds flat, next, a boy he was able to get him into a headlock easily.

_Calm down, Daichi. You’re going all out – you need to hold back a little bit, or you won’t be compatible with anybody._

His next opponent was a girl. Daichi barely had time to relax before he was stomach down on the ground, the crook of her elbow tight around his neck. It was the first time he had been beaten, but the instructor watching him dismissed her.

The next fight went on for longer; Daichi didn’t go all out. He tried to slow down his movements, to go easy on him, but the instructors saw through it straight away.

“Sawamura! Holding back is not going to help anybody! It won’t work if you force it, so do it properly or you can get out!”

There was a slick sheen of sweat across Daichi’s forehead now, but it had nothing to do with the fights. He knew how to fight; he had gone through workouts far more grueling than this. It was his anxiety talking, the growing fear of not being able to get past this stage, the fear of never being able to pilot a Jaeger—

“Sugawara Koushi.”

It wasn’t a name Daichi was familiar with. He frowned slightly, snapped out of his dark thoughts as another boy – around the same age as he was, by the looks of it – stepped out from the group watching the fights.

He could see a few of the others mumbling to each other.

“Sugawara-san? Really?”  
“Why, is he not strong?”  
“It’s not that, but he’s nothing exceptional. Sawamura’s the top of the class, though.”  
“And so far they’ve only paired him with the other really strong people here! If it’s a fight…Koushi’s good but he’s not going to win.”  
“It’s not about winning, though, is it? You heard the instructor; if you’re compatible skills and strength fly out the window, and you move with each other.”  
“Well, we’ll find out now, won’t we?”

He pushed the voices of his fellow trainees out of his mind as he focused on this guy – Sugawara.

He was a little shorter than him, with a lean build that contrasted with Daichi’s broad shoulders. He had light hair, big eyes, and most bizarrely – a huge smile.

He bowed, introducing himself in a bright voice. A little stunned, Daichi followed his suit.

Sugawara looked at him, his brow creased a little. “Are you feeling alright, Sawamura-san?” he asked, looking almost concerned.

Daichi frowned. He didn’t really know this guy – he looked vaguely familiar, but apart from that, he knew nothing about him. Yet…he was being so polite and friendly, it was kind of strange. The Jaeger Program needed tough pilots, with minds of steel. Training was usually so grueling and fierce that most bright personalities like this were squashed down within days.

“I, uh, I’m fine. Let’s get started, shall we?” He was conscious of the two instructors watching them closely, but they didn’t say anything. That was strange; usually delaying before sparring or training would get you in trouble.

“Are you sure?” The crease between Sugawara’s eyes deepened, a frown tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You look pale, Samawura-san. Are you feeling ill? Or are you just nervous?”

Daichi almost winced. He had been doing his best to hide his nerves – how did this guy get it spot on so quickly?

Sugawara smiled, as if he knew what Daichi was thinking. “You look very tense,” he said quietly. “Your shoulders are all hunched up, and you’re always frowning.”

“I’m not the only one who’s nervous,” Daichi grumbled. Hmph. This Sugawara kid wasn’t the only one who could read body language. The smaller boy kept fidgeting with his hands – wringing them, clenching them in and out of fists, drumming on his thighs. He stood practically on the balls of his feet too – it was obvious, really.

Sugawara grinned a little bit, and yes – Daichi could see the nerves in his eyes now, too. “How did you know?” he asked, his voice soft enough that Daichi had to strain to hear it in the crowded space.

“Your hands. And your face. Besides – everyone here must be a little nervous – right?”

Sugawara gave him another gentle smile, seeming to relax slightly where he stood. “I guess you’re right,” he said. “I didn’t think I was so obvious about it.”

“Neither did I,” Daichi admitted. The nerves in his stomach had relaxed slightly – still there, just not as vicious. This guy had an amiable quality to him – his presence alone was almost soothing, unlike his other opponents so far, who had barged over with the intent of taking him down.

They both settled into their stances. “Good luck, Sawamura-san,” Sugawara called.

“You too,” Daichi said back.

One of the instructors blew the whistle.

Daichi started things off, darting forward to get closer, before swinging for a punch. His fist met nothing, though; Sugawara slipped under his arm and behind him. Daichi turned quickly, but took several quick steps back to avoid a series of sharp elbows and hands in his face.

Sugawara shot the heel of his hand up into Daichi’s face, but Daichi caught his wrist. For a second he studied his face – brow creased, eyes narrowed slightly, mouth tugging downwards in concentration – before he spun around behind him, pulling his arm with him and pinning it to his back.

Daichi tried to hide the disappointed sigh. After pinning Sugawara’s arm securely like this, that was doubtlessly a point to him. It was a pity – he wouldn’t have minded partnering up with someone like Sugawara.

But Suga wasn’t finished yet.

Sugawara jumped backwards, lifting his feet off of the ground and slamming his back into Daichi’s chest, sending them both falling backwards. Daichi grunted, taken by surprise by this move, and he loosened his grip on his opponent. The smaller boy rolled off of him quickly, gracefully jumping to his feet before falling back into a defensive stance.

“You shouldn’t underestimate me, Sawamura-san,” Suga called almost teasingly.

Despite everything – Daichi grinned.

He shot forward again, and this time his intuition told him that Sugawara would go right, like he did the last time. He was correct – he did go for the right, but it was like Suga already knew that was where Daichi was going to try and get him, and moved out of the way. Daichi ducked, dropping to the ground as Sugawara followed up with a high kick.

A challenge, then.

Sugawara didn’t have Daichi’s strength, but he was quick and nimble. No matter how hard Daichi tried – and he _was_ genuinely trying – he couldn’t get a hit on him. And Suga couldn’t get him either; it was more like a dance than a fight, both of them spinning and moving around each other like they knew how the other would move next, even though they were both making it up as they went along.

His muscles began to burn, and there was sweat trickling down the back of his neck, but Daichi didn’t notice. In the corner of his eye he noticed small things; more and more of the trainees stopping to watch the two of them, their instructor calling all the other instructors present to watch, the other fights stopping – he noticed them, but none of them mattered.

What mattered was the way they were moving. Call it instinct, or intuition, but it was like Daichi knew what Suga was going to do next. And vice versa too; Daichi would strike but Suga dodged before he got a chance, Daichi knew to drop low just as Suga went for a high strike. Suga was dodging left by the time Daichi was attacking to the right, and by the time Suga went for a hit, Daichi was already blocking.

It was a tangle of limbs and heavy breathing, and it was like Daichi’s brain and body were working ten steps ahead of him; by the time he register something, he was already moving to counter it. The nerves he had felt earlier were like a dream he could barely remember, all he could focus on was this fight, was the boy with light hair moving with him.

An instructor’s whistle brought him out of his thoughts, and they both stopped moving abruptly. Daichi met Sugawara’s eyes for a moment. They were both breathing heavily, slow grins steadily spread across their faces.

It was only now that Daichi looked around him. All of the other fights had stopped, and all of the other trainees were standing and watching them, eyes widened slightly. Instructor Shimizu scribbled something on her notepad before looking up, eyes flickering from Daichi to Suga.

“Trainees Sawamura and Sugawara,” she said, her quiet voice carrying easily through the big room. “We’ll be running a drift synch test between the two of you tomorrow morning. Report outside the Drivesuit Room tomorrow morning at 0700 hours. Both of you are dismissed.”

Daichi’s eyes widened. The relief washed over him like a cold shower, shocking his senses. He had done it – nearly. He was so close to achieving what he wanted.

Sugawara coughed beside him, and brought Daichi back to reality. They both bowed and thanked the instructors for their time, before leaving the Kwoon Combat Room.

Daichi waited until they were out of earshot before leaping into the air, punching the empty space triumphantly. “Yes! Yes!”

Sugawara smiled at him. “It feels kinda unreal, doesn’t it?”

“It’s not over yet,” Daichi said, trying to slam himself back into focus, but he was far too giddy. “But we’ve the hard part over us, right?”

“I don’t know – I’ve heard the drifts are pretty difficult – but still.” He smiled again, showing off his pearly teeth. “We’ve come far, haven’t we?”

Daichi matched his grin. “Go back to your dorm, Sugawara-san, and rest up,” he said. “I want you at your full strength tomorrow; when we show everyone how strong our neural handshake is going to be.”

Sugawara offered him a mock salute, a teasing glint in his eyes. “Whatever you say, _Captain Sawamura.”_

Daichi scoffed. “Just call me Daichi. You’re going to be in my head tomorrow, anyway.”

Sugawara looked faintly surprised, but his grin grew even better. “You can use Koushi, too!” he said. “Although, most people just call me Suga anyway…”

Daichi nodded. “Suga then. I’ll see you in the morning, partner,” he said.

Suga chuckled. “Rest well, Daichi.”

And as Daichi made his way back to his room, he was filled with a certainty he hadn’t felt in a while. He was almost sure that things would go well tomorrow – he had sparred with countless of people before, but never like that. Never had he experienced something like what he just had with Suga. And although it was only a sparring match – it felt like so much more. Daichi couldn’t find the right words to explain it, but somehow it felt as if something incredibly _important_ had happened.

If that wasn’t a sign that they were drift compatible, Dachi wasn’t sure what would.

And as far as people went, Suga didn’t seem like a half bad guy to drift with.

***

They didn’t drift in actual Jaegers during the tests – nah, all of the built Jaegers were stationed around the world already, and killing kaiju when one reared its ugly head. They used the same system, though; two pilots would be half-suited up, and sent to drift together, to try and form a neural handshake.

Daichi was nervous again, his stomach curling in on itself and his hands sweating. He wasn’t as bad as he had been feeling yesterday, though – that had to count for something.

Suga was standing beside him, his bottom lip caught between his teeth as he wrung his hands nervously.

Daichi tried to stay still as a technician fitted various wires to him. They never practiced in the full Drivesuit – not for the first time, anyway. The instructors had paired up a lot of potential partners, and needed to test each pair out as quickly as possible.

“We’re going to start the drift,” Shimizu said. “Both of you should try to relax. Even if it goes wrong, nothing bad is going to happen. You need to calm down.”

Daichi glanced to his right. Suga was looking back at him. Their eyes met for a moment, and Daichi tried to smile. Suga attempted a grin back.

“We’re initializing the Drift,” a voice called. Daichi shut his eyes.

Please work, _please work_ , he thought.

All of a sudden, it felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. He gasped, and he heard another gasp from his right – Suga. Then suddenly, it felt like he was falling down from a height, freefalling off of a precipice as he lost all sense of balance and gravity. And suddenly—

_A boy; a few years younger than the one to his right, hearing the siren and grabbing his younger siblings by the hand, dragging them alone the street to the shelter. He doesn’t know where his parents are, but that doesn’t matter because he needs to get the rest of them to the shelter before—_

_Daichi, watching the news about the latest kaiju attack outside a local TV store, his heart clenching because that’s where his dad is stationed, but he’s going to be okay, he_ has _to be okay—_

_For a second, Suga looks behind just as he sees it; the monstrous beast through the skyscrapers, throwing its grotesque head back and roaring, and the terror fills him so quickly he’s almost knocked off of his feet, just as a cop takes his arm and leads him down into the shelter—_

_Old Marshall Ukai offers a hand to Daichi, just a few meters from the grave. “Your father was a good man,” he says, looking nearly as lost as Daichi feels. “He was one of the first Rangers, and even if he only ended up in a fight once or twice, his work and study of the drift will pave the way for the Rangers to follow him. He will not be forgotten.” He moves, as if to continue to Daichi’s mother, crying into her hands a few steps away, but he hesitates. “You’re quite like him,” he says solemnly, before pressing a slip of paper into Daichi’s hand. “The Jaeger Academy will be fully up and running in a matter of weeks now – we could use your type there.” It’s all he says before he moves on—_

_The city is destroyed, thousands are dead, thousands are left injured, thousands are left homeless. But Suga knows it could have been worse, if it hadn’t been for Apollo Revenge swooping in and saving the day in exchange for the life of a pilot. Even if there’s unlimited destruction, he reminds himself things could have been a lot worse—_

_Daichi won’t cry in front of his mother, he has to be strong for her, but at night when he’s alone, he lets out his sadness and grief and anger into his pillow—_

_Suga’s siblings are too young to notice. They’re so hungry that it doesn’t matter to them, they’re too young to protest about Suga splitting up his share of rations for them. They’re young and growing, they need to eat and if the price for their full stomachs is Suga spending another night hungry, it’s a price he’s willing to pay—_

_Daichi looks at the card Marshall Ukai gave him. He doesn’t want to die – he’s terrified of dying, of dying like his father, but maybe if he becomes a pilot he’ll be able to fight and protect the people, he’ll be able to continue his father’s work—_

_At night, Suga reads about the Rangers and the Jaegers, and dreams of a day when he’ll be able to slay kaiju, when he’ll be able to prevent the same destruction and death and chaos from happening again, when he’ll really be able to protect his family—_

_“I’m going to enlist in the Jaeger Academy. I’m going to become a Ranger—”_

_“I’m going to enlist in the Jaeger Academy. I’m going to become a Ranger—”_

_“You can’t!” His mother cries, face distraught. “Didn’t you see what happened to your father? I can’t lose you too, Daichi—”_

_Most kids his age are moving inland to go to school, and even though the Jaegers are enjoying more successes, even though Rangers are becoming increasingly popular, the others laugh when he says this. “Suga!” they say. “You’re not strong enough to become a Ranger—”_

_“You can’t do this, Daichi. It’s a lost cause – I tried telling your father like that, and now…he’s gone. Don’t follow him to your death — please—”_

_Suga never was particularly strong or into sports growing up, and everyone knows that physical strength is a necessity for Rangers. When they hear Suga wants to enlist, they laugh or scoff or have the same look of disbelief in their eyes. Suga pretends not to see them, but regardless of what they think, he’s going to do this—_

_It doesn’t matter what his mother says, Daichi thinks—_

_It doesn’t matter what anyone says, Suga thinks—_

_At the end of the day, it’s not about him, or his mother—_

_For Suga, it’s about fighting for something he believes in—_

_The world is coming to an end, and someone needs to step up. Daichi wants to make a difference, he wants to fight, he wants to avenge his lost father—_

_Suga just wants to prevent all of that death and destruction, he wants to keep his family safe, the people he loves safe, his country safe, and if he has to put his own life at risk to accomplish that, he’ll do it—_

_Daichi enlists, and training at the Jaeger Academy is much harder than he ever imagined. Every day he wakes up with an aching body, and has to push it through even more tasks and activities. Psych analysts are there to break and bend their minds to make them suitable for drifting, and that’s just as hard, if not harder, than the physical training. But apparently he’s a natural, so much that he overheard some of the instructors discussing him and his “leadership qualities.” They said he’s one to look out for, and Daichi can’t help but feel satisfied—_

_It’s hard at first, and Suga pushes himself as hard as he can to avoid being cut. After the first few weeks it gets easier; he finally knows that nobody here is going to be nice about things. That doesn’t change his attitude though; he remains as bright and as friendly as he can, because he wants to become a Ranger, but he doesn’t want to lose himself along the way—_

_Nerves that make them both almost sick because they’ve worked so hard but this is something they can’t control, the same sense of exhilaration when they fight each other, the same sleepless night before now, where they’re finally in the drift, and—”_

“—Commencing neural handshake—”

Daichi’s eyes fly open. Any uneasy feelings are long gone. He looks in front of him, and he can see technicians scribbling notes and he can hear the hum of the hardware he’s connected to, but he can also feel two hearts pounding and two sets of quickened breaths.

It feels like a pathway has suddenly been opened between the two of them, but instead of it overwhelming him it wraps around his mind like a warm blanket. Memories and thoughts and instincts and feelings and hopes and worries and dreams; all of them wash around his own. In a matter of seconds, he knows Suga, he knows him better than he’s known anyone else, better than he knows himself.

They look at each other at the same time. Suga’s eyes are wide, but there’s a grin on his face. He must feel it too, Daichi realizes. It feels so strange, but in a good way, and Daichi can’t find a way to describe it.

It’s as if they’ve gone from being two separate minds to a single one, while still being individuals. He can feel it now, the way they think together as one, even though he has his own thoughts and can feel Suga’s bubbling at the edge of his mind. Every inch of Daichi’s mind is being bared here, even the darkest, deepest inches, they’re being bared to a stranger and yet he can’t find it in him to be embarrassed. Daichi realizes he’s laughing (but there’s a sadness in his chest too, a sadness from reliving his father’s funeral and seeing the destruction of the kaiju through Suga’s eyes).

Still – this feeling is like something he’s never experienced, so much more special and important than what he had thought it would be like.

And suddenly, it’s over—the connection is cut, and slowly the drift fizzles out. He still has all of Suga’s memories, he still knows what he was feeling and thinking, but now it’s as if a wall has gone up, dividing them again.

Daichi feels good, if not a little weak around the knees and nauseous. Suga slumps where he’s standing, and before Daichi realizes it, he’s sending a hand out to steady him. Suga grins back at him.

They’ve disconnected from the hardware, been given glasses of water and a moment to recover before Shimizu is there, a glint in her usually unreadable eyes.

“That was…really good,” she said. “Usually the neural handshake during a drift isn’t as strong as that the first time round. There are exceptions, of course; when the two drifting are siblings, or family, or close friends, it makes it easier. When two strangers drift, if they’re compatible it’ll work, but it takes up time to build up trust and a bond strong enough to give such a steady connection. But…you two are more or less strangers?”

“We were,” Suga said slowly. “I don’t think we had talked before yesterday…”

Shimizu looked pensive, pursing her lips. “Usually,” she started, “first drifts aren’t half as good as this. But after training, they get much stronger. But you two…you have one of the strongest connections I’ve seen for someone’s first time…And you’re only going to get even stronger after training…” She tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear, giving them both a small smile. “I think we can expect great things from you two.”

**November, 2016**

“C’mon!” Daichi cheered at the tiny phone screen. “C’mon, break their streak! Stop their momentum!” He drummed his knuckles against his knees, mouth pulled into a frown as he focused on the match.

Suga was lounging beside him, a smile on his face. “I never knew that you were so into volleyball,” he said. “You look like you’re going to fall into the screen.”

Daichi glanced sheepishly at him. “Of course you knew,” he remarked with a snort. “You’ve seen my whole life, so you know I used to play for my school’s volleyball team, before my dad died. I can’t play it anymore – but I still can follow it!”

Suga smiled, softer this time, and he gave Daichi’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. Of course, he knew better than anyone how hard Daichi still found it to speak about his father. “It’s one thing to know about it,” he said, his tone light. “Seeing your…enthusiasm for it is entirely different.”

Daichi made a face, and Suga laughed.

They had spent the last months spending nearly every moment with each other. The key to a good drift was to build trust, they had been told. And the best way for them to bond was them to spend time together.

They had been moved out of the dorms into a smaller room, with just two bunks. They trained together, they had classes together, they sparred together, and they ate together and relaxed together. At night, they slept close to each other. There was barely a moment in the day when they weren’t together.

At first, Daichi had been worried that they would tire of each other, and would get on each other’s nerves. But even though they irritated each other sometimes, even though they squabbled and bickered at times, on a whole he enjoyed it. He smiled fondly at Suga.

Suga noticed, raising his eyebrows at him. “What?”

“What?”

“You’re thinking, Daichi,” he teased. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

Daichi leaned back, grabbing a pillow off of his bed before hurling it at Suga. The smaller boy smacked it out of the air, trying not to laugh. “Tell me what’s on your mind!” he said. “Y’know I’m just going to see it next time we drift, anyway.”

Defeated, Daichi flopped back on his bed. “I was just thinking,” he said. “That I’m really glad it’s you I’m compatible with.”

He couldn’t see Suga’s face from this position, but he could practically feel the heat rolling off of his cheeks. “D-daichi!” he said, crossing his arms. “S-stop being such a sentimental fool.” Daichi craned his neck, looking up at the older boy. Despite his stern words, he was smiling.

The brunette chuckled lifting one arm. Sure enough, the breath was stolen from his lungs as Suga tackled him with a hug. Daichi’s laughs grew louder.

Over the last few months, their neural handshake had gotten even stronger. Among the current trainees, they had the strongest connection by far. Suga had gotten a lot better at hand to hand combat from sparring, and Daichi found himself a lot more content with the older boy at his side.

A lot of trainees had been cut – there was no point hanging onto those who weren’t suited, after all – and by now they had barely a quarter left of those who started out.

However, in the last few months the Jaeger Program had gained a lot of popularity. Rangers were becoming celebrities, like superheroes, and the kaiju were becoming less and less of a threat – especially in the media. Now, everyone wanted in on the Jaeger Program – especially as a pilot.

It was because some of these new kids who wanted to join had never truly experienced the terror of watching your city destroyed by monsters, or the sorrow of losing a loved one to them. Most of them were people who lived further inland, who had never seen a kaiju in their life, who decided they would become a hero.

They didn’t know a thing.

The people in training now, though – they did know. They were the ones who saw becoming a ranger as a way to protect the things they cherished, to protect humanity; not as a way to become famous. Most of them knew what would happen when a kaiju got through.

The rising popularity of the program did have its pros, but according to Daichi, it had big problems too. Problems of having rangers who looked at this like it was a game, not a war.

Suga snapped his fingers in front of his face. “You’re overthinking again,” he said frowning. “You need to stop that.” He took a deep breath. “I know things aren’t going to be easy,” he said. “But we never thought they would be. Let’s just focus on becoming rangers first, okay?”

Daichi smiled grudgingly. “Why do you have so much sense?” he asked, shaking his head. “It’s not fair.”

Suga opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a banging on the door.

“Come in!”

One of the other trainees burst through the door. “Sawamura-san, Sugawara-san – come quick! You should see this!”

Daichi’s stomach dropped. This didn’t sound good.

They followed him out of their room and down the corridors until they got to the common room.

There was quite a crowd in here, and Daichi was alarmed to see several of the instructors were there too, grouped around the TVs. Daichi and Suga exchanged a look, the worry apparent on both of their faces.

Daichi knew it was bad before he even saw the TV screen. The room was dimly lit, but the colors from the TV shone onto everyone’s faces, washing them out and highlighting the worry and horror on them. Daichi moved so that he could see one of the screens.

“ _The kaiju appeared fifty minutes ago, and despite the best efforts of the Jaegers_ Jupiter Hurricane _and_ Raven Valkyrie, _piloted by the Lau twins and mother and daughter duo Kate and Tiffany Madigan respectfully, both Jaegers were taken down and destroyed within a matter of minutes. Both teams of pilots have been killed in the line of duty_.

_With no opposition, the kaiju has begun to rampage through San Francisco, and is currently being engaged by_ Lightning Blaze. _Citizens of the city are being evacuated.”_

The reporter’s voice was monotonous and dull, despite the carnage and destruction it was reporting. It was like a car crash, Daichi thought; it was terrible, it was horrifying, but he couldn’t look away.

The film was from above – most likely from a helicopter – and the kaiju in its gross entirety was visible, clashing with the metal giant that was Lightning Blaze. The Jaeger didn’t seem to be going too well, though, and Daichi felt his stomach twist as he saw the destruction of the city, and the two giant masses of metal that used to be two Jaegers.

They all stood in silence, watching as the struggle continued before Lightning Blaze finally managed to defeat the kaiju. Daichi felt a ringing in his ears, all of a sudden the room seemed to swim around him. He found Suga’s hand and held it tightly.

“What the fuck are we doing?” one of the trainees started, breaking the silence. “We’re supposed to be getting stronger than them, right? We’re supposed to be winning but it just took three Jaegers to take one down! Four rangers are dead – at least!”

A murmur picked up, spreading across the room. Daichi stood, as if frozen.

“What’s the point of all of this if we’re just going to die anyway?”

“We can’t really beat the kaiju, can we?”

“Was this training all for nothing?”

Beside him, Suga closed his eyes, and held onto his hand even tighter.

***

Daichi lay on the bottom bunk, staring up at the bed above him, wondering if Suga was still awake.

Usually Daichi was able to fall asleep quickly and heavily, but tonight it evaded him. Every time he closed his eyes he was haunted with visions of kaiju, of destroyed Jaegers and ruined cities, of his father’s coffin being lowered into the ground.

“Suga,” he whispered into the dark room. “Are you awake?”

Silence. Daichi sighed, turning onto his side, and was just about to shut his eyes when—

“I can’t sleep.”

Daichi breathed in relief. “I know this was what we signed up for,” he said. “But I’m still scared.”

He nodded into his pillow.

Suga was silent for a few moments. Daichi squeezed his eyes shut, trying his best to stay calm. Next thing, he heard the creaking of the bedsprings above him, the sound of Suga slipping off of the bed.

His own bed lowered slightly under a new weight, and before he had time to react Suga was slipping into the bed with him.

“I’m really scared too,” he whispered, his voice close to Daichi’s ear. “No, I’m terrified. But I want to protect the people I love more than I want to run away.” He took a deep breath. “And right now, we’re the two most qualified for the job. If we run away, all the other trainees will too. It’s okay to be scared though – at least, I hope it is, because if it isn’t, I don’t know where that leaves me.” Suga gave a breathy, tiny laugh. “But it’s okay, because even if we can’t be scared in public, we can be scared here, right? Trust is the key to a good drift, and if we trust in the drift and trust each other, we’ll just have to trust that we’ll get through whatever they throw at us.”

Daichi moved his hand up to rest on Suga’s arm. “I don’t know if we’ll make it,” he said quietly. “But I guess if we’re going out, we might as well take a few of them with us, right? Show them our real power.”

In the darkness, he saw Suga nod.

“I’m glad you’re here,” the older boy whispered.

Daichi nodded. “I’m glad you’re here.”

After a moment, Daichi slid his arm around Suga’s waist and pulled him closer, letting him bury his head in his shoulder. Eventually, Suga’s wound his arms around Daichi, too.

He wasn’t sure how long they lay there like that, but eventually Daichi fell asleep, nightmares of kaiju chased off by the thrumming of Suga’s heartbeat beside him.

**January, 2018**

It was all very fancy and prestigious.

Over the last year, despite setbacks, the Jaeger Program had continued to grow in popularity, until rangers were the most famous people across the planet.

The unveiling of a new Jaeger brought thousands outside the Shatterdome. Crow King was freshly made, all sleek and shiny and tough. And it was theirs.

It was unveiled outside the dome, where Ukai and some other higher ups gave speeches about pushing back the kaiju to the masses gathered. Daichi and Suga were introduced as the new rangers, and they had to go through hundreds of interviews and shake hundreds of hands, and stand straight and smile for all of the flashing cameras.

“When I signed up to be a ranger,” Suga whispered to Daichi, “I didn’t want any of this.”

Suga grinned for the cameras, before waving at a group of teenage girls chanting their names. Despite not liking it, he was a bit of a natural.

“But still – we need to go along with it,” Daichi said, sending a wink to some of the girls and watching them clutch each other’s arms. “It’s part of the job.”

“Not really!” Suga was smiling so much; nobody would have guessed he was protesting against this. “I mean…I’m very grateful for their support, don’t get me wrong, but…we’ve been getting every spot of media coverage just because we’re new and because we’ve a strong connection and because we’re young—”

“—The youngest rangers so far, I might add—”

“But we still haven’t been in an actual fight! They’re treating us as heroes, but we haven’t even done anything yet!”

Daichi gave him a look. “It won’t be too long until something does happen,” he said. “And I bet then, we’ll both be wishing to come back to this moment.”

Suga’s smile froze slightly on his face, almost slipping off his features. But then, he grinned again, softer and more discreet. He glanced at Daichi. “You don’t seem to be as scared as before,” he said quietly.

Daichi found his own smile growing. “I realized something over the last few days,” he said, glad that nobody else was in earshot at the moment. “All of these people? They’re looking up to us. Everyone in this city is counting on us to protect them, right? And a promotion in our ranks has even been hinted at already…”

He looked out at the crowd of people. Right now, they seemed like a mass, one huge being, but Daichi could see them know properly. Every one of them was their own person, with their own hopes and dreams and memories, their own family and friends and sorrows and joys. And they were all counting on him to keep the kaiju at bay.

“If all of these people are depending on us, we can’t show them how scared we are,” he said. “But anyway – I was scared of losing and dying. Now…I guess my determination to win and fight is bigger than my fear.”

He could feel Suga’s eyes on him. He turned slightly, so he could face him properly. “What?” Daichi asked.

Suga broke into what Daichi called his signature Suga smile.  “You amaze me,” he said. “I’ve been inside your head and I know nearly everything about you, but you still take me by surprise.”

            **Three weeks later**

“This is it,” Daichi said, his mouth dry as they were suited up in the Drivesuit room. “We’re finally facing a kaiju.”

“I’m nervous, too,” Suga added. “But we can’t focus on it. If we do, we’ll lose.”

Daichi grinned nervously. “I’m not going to lose.”

“You better not. If you’re not fully focused, I’ll kick your ass afterwards, Sawamura.”

Daichi laughed despite himself, as they entered the Conn-Pod and the technicians fitted the final parts of their suits. “Everyone thinks you’re the nice one,” he grumbled. “Only I know the truth.”

He still wasn’t quite used to the swooping feeling as they were lowered down onto the rest of the Jaeger. Crow King was a beauty as far as he was concerned, new but powerful, the first of a new generation of Jaegers. And it was theirs.

The tiny space was filled with the grumbling voice of Marshall Ukai. “Sawamura. Sugawara. Are you two ready to enter the drift?”

“Yes, sir!”

“This is exactly what you’ve been trained for. You shouldn’t have anything to worry about; your neural handshake and your neural spike are both superb, far above average. You have this – but don’t get cocky! Keep a level head, stay alert, and stay focused!”

“Understood.”

“We’re going to enter the drift now. Mission Control’s going to be here the entire time. We have a few minutes before the kaiju reaches the coast, so get going.”

“Yes, sir!”

Daichi looked over at Suga.

“Time to show them what we’re made of,” he said.

Suga nodded.

Entering the drift with Suga was like slipping into a warm bath after a long stressful day. It was like being wrapped up in blankets, safe and sound, while a storm raged outside. It was someone wrapping their arms around you when you were scared.

They slipped into it easily, the rush of memories and thoughts almost comforting, and they both automatically let each other into their heads. Daichi felt the rush of affection, he felt their nerves and fears sweep between them, he felt the growing confidence in both of their heads. They looked at each other, smiling. They could do this.

Then there was the slow buzzing feeling as they connected to their Jaeger, as they connected to Crow King. Their vision swam for a moment, and then they were able to see out of the Jaeger, too, as if through its eyes as well as their own.

“Neural handshake is very strong,” a voice was saying from Mission Control. “You’re good to go!”

The next few moments passed in a blur, and Daichi barely found it until they were in the water. He remembered his father, remembered how strong he had been when he was killed. His brows furrowed slightly, and he felt his determination shoot up. He wouldn’t make the same mistakes he had.

“Ready, Daichi?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Together, they moved, walking out through the waves to the kaiju rushing to meet them.

Suga glanced at the radar. “It’s getting closer,” he said. The huge mass was moving fast on the screen, moving fast towards Crow King, fast towards the coast of the Miyagi Prefecture. Daichi could feel him, he was nervous, a little scared, but confident.

Voices were babbling down the line from Mission Control, but the only voice he heard was Suga’s.

“It’s nearly here, Daichi.” Suga sounded calm, but they were both trembling in their suits. Daichi surveyed the open ocean in front of him, every wave in the corner of his eye making his heart jump. It was out there somewhere.

All other sounds seem to filter away; the voices from Mission Control, Suga, the whir of the machine they were in all trickled out, until the only thing he could hear was his own heavy breathing and his own thudding heartbeat.

“Daichi,” Suga breathed. “It’s here.”

Time stopped for a moment.

And then everything came crashing back to reality, as the monster burst from underneath the sea.

They had watched countless videos about the kaiju, they had seen so many pictures, and Suga had even seen one with his own eyes before, but nothing had prepared Daichi for this. Their connection was flushed with a sudden outburst of fear and panic, because right in front of them was the huge creature, just as big as Crow King. A whole mass of hunger and hatred and it was hurtling right towards them.

“Daichi! Concentrate!” he could hear Suga yell beside him.

He nodded, swallowing back the fear. Suga was right, they needed to concentrate and focus if they wanted to live through this. The kaiju opened its gaping maw, and they moved as one, swinging their left arm in a mean hook.

The Jaeger hummed with power, and the huge metal fist crashed into the kaiju’s skull. It pushed it back, giving them a bit more room to move. Exhilaration flooded Daichi’s brain.

They made the next move, both of them knowing what to do without having to consult one another – that was the power of the drift. Crow King lunged forward to meet the kaiju. The kaiju was sending a clawed hand right for the chest, but Daichi was good at blocking. His arm, the left one, darted forward to catch it, while Suga kept moving, hitting the kaiju with their right arm so hard it crashed backwards through the waves.

They were both yelling – Daichi wasn’t even sure what they were yelling, but there they were; screaming from the effort and in triumph and exhilaration.

“We can do this!” Suga yelled, and when Daichi caught his eye, he knew it was true.

They ran forward again, but this time the kaiju’s tail swung first, striking them across the chest of the robot and forcing them back. Daichi was used to drifting with Suga, he was used to drifting with Suga and connecting with a Jaeger, but the feeling of being attacked like this was new. They both gasped, hissing in pain even though it was metal that was struck, not their own bodies.

Marshall Ukai was yelling at them. “Keep your focus; don’t let it force you back any more!”

Daichi grunted as the tail smacked into them again. They both were jolted back with the force of the blow, and Daichi couldn’t stop worrying when he heard Suga let out a gasp of pain.

“Don’t worry about me!” Suga called. “Worry about _that_!”

The sharp tail of the kaiju was wrapping around the body of the Jaeger, pulling tight around its chest while one clawed hand scratched along the head, close to the Conn-Pod where they were.

“Sugawara! Sawamura! Get a hold of yourselves!”

Daichi thought about the crowds of people who came to witness the unveiling of Crow King and the introduction of the two new rangers. The people who were relying on them to protect them from this beast.

Daichi howled, and not because of the searing pain in his head. He grabbed out, gripping the tail of the kaiju and pulling it towards them. “Suga!” he yelled.

He pulled again, dragging the kaiju as close as he could. “Sawamura! What the hell do you think you’re doing? Do you have a death wish—” He blocked out the voices of the officers safe in the Command Center. “Suga—”

“I got it!” Suga yelled back, swinging his arm after frantically hitting some of the buttons on the control pads in front of them.

He swung as if for a punch, but just as the giant metal fist connected with the beast, the robotic voice inside the Pod rang out _– Right Plasma Cannon activated—_

The right arm immediately changed, metal plates moving quickly until the cannon was mobilized, and the blue laser beam shot out, searing the flesh of the kaiju.

The creature thrashed in pain, its grip on Crow King loosening again. “Fire again, fire again!” Daichi was screaming, as he ripped the tail from around them. They had it good now – nothing would be able to stand strong after an attack from that range.

Suga’s face was pulled tight with concentration as he fired again, again, again, five times. The kaiju let out a final groan, overwhelmed with the injuries. The plasma cannons were one of their primary weapons for a reason.

“One more,” Suga was saying. “Daichi! Let’s do this!”

Together, they raced forward, raising both fists of the Jaeger before bringing them down and smashing them against the kaiju’s head. It fell, slumping under the waves with a harrowing cry.

It didn’t get up.”

“It’s dead,” the message came from the Marshall. “There’s no life signal from it anymore.” A pause. “Congratulations, pilots – you’ve killed your first kaiju.”

Daichi slumped, breathing heavily and shakily. They had done it, they had actually done it.

He looked up and across at Suga. He looked equally as worn, but triumphant as he stretched an arm out. Daichi reached across, grabbing his hand and entwining their fingers as they grinned at each other.

**December, 2019**

“Birthdays are the worst when you’re drift compatible,” Suga said with a pout, poking Daichi’s arm. “It’s your birthday soon, and no matter what I get I won’t be able to keep it a surprise!”

Daichi chuckled, poking Suga back. “You don’t need to get me anything,” he said.

“Of course I do! You’re not twenty two every day!” Suga continued, poking him again.

Daichi just shook his head. “Suga…”

There was a knock on their door. “Sugawara, Sawamura.” One of the officers entered. “Marshall Ukai would like a word with you, please.”

“Oh, alright,” Daichi stood up, his brow creasing. Suga frowned. “I wonder what he wants?” he asked quietly, as they made their way to the Marshall’s office. “I hope we didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing like that,” Daichi said. “You’re worrying too much.”

Suga didn’t look too convinced. He had barely knocked on the Marshall’s door before they were told to come in and take a seat.

In the end, it wasn’t anything that they had done. At the Miyagi Shatterdome, there were two Jaegers; their Crow King, and Whirlwind Samurai, which was piloted by two veterans.

The pilots of Whirlwind Samurai were much older than they were. They had both been in the United States Air Corps before the first kaiju attack, and had been deployed against the very first kaiju in San Francisco. Ever since, they had been closely involved with the Jaeger Program, before becoming one of the first teams.

In any case – they were old, and tired. “It’s a hard game to play, but someone has to play it,” one of them had told Daichi. “But we’re too old to play this game. The new generation of people like you are going to have to play it for us now. Good luck.”

Speaking of getting old, Marshall Ukai wasn’t looking the best these days. Daichi had lost track of what age he was, but it certainly seemed far too old to be in such a stressful position like this. He was made of tough stuff, that was for sure.

“We’re getting another team here, to fill in the spot Whirlwind Samurai has left,” he said. “Two new pilots. They’ve quite a good connection – not as strong as yours, mind, but still – they’re good stuff. Around the same age as you, too; we want you to welcome them with open arms and become friendly with them.”

“Of course,” Suga said immediately. “Naturally.”

Ukai nodded. “That’s not all,” he said. “We’re working on new battle tactics, and we want to try something new. A four way team.”

Daichi frowned. A drift with four people? The thought of someone who wasn’t Suga being inside his head was repulsive. And the idea of someone who wasn’t him being in Suga’s head was just as bad. Besides; everybody said that their connection was unique, one of a kind. There would be no way they’d be able to keep it with two strangers…

Ukai seemed to know what he was thinking. “Not a four person drift,” he said. “But two teams. Crow King, and the new Jaeger, Thunder Strike, working together.”

The Marshall stood up, walking to the window in his office. It offered a few of the bay. “Crow King is strong, you’ve proven that many times already. But while as a whole, it’s strong, the newer generation of Jaegers have more updated weapons, ones that are far stronger than the knives and cannons of Crow King. Thunder Strike is one of the newest Jaegers, and one of the most powerful. It’s attacks and blocks are quick, accurate, and stronger. But on a whole, I believe it’s not as strong as Crow King.

The attacks take far longer to load and recharge, so for every powerful attack, there’s a time period where it has to recharge. In that time, they’re only at a fraction of the power of Crow King. I want to try and create a team between both Jaegers; a system where you two will engage the enemy, you will meet it head on, while Thunder Strike backs you up and strikes powerfully whenever it can.”

Daichi and Suga exchanged a glance. While it did make sense, there was also a sense of _aren’t we good enough by ourselves?_ in their thoughts.

“But sir,” Daichi asked hesitantly. “Why now? When Whirlwind Samurai was still operating, we never fought together.”

Ukai lowered himself down into his chair slowly. “Because the kaiju are getting stronger. It’s taking longer for you to kill them, right? They know where to strike hardest now. They’re evolving, Sawamura, they’re getting stronger. And if we sit by, refusing to make ourselves stronger, they’ll crush us.”

Silence hung in the room for a few moments before they both nodded. Ukai slid a document across his desk towards them. “They’re arriving tomorrow morning at 0800 hours. I expect you both to be there. Dismissed.”

Daichi and Suga glanced at each other before Suga tentatively raised a hand to open the document folder. On the first page were the profiles of the new pilots. Their names; _Azumane Asahi, Nishinoya Yuu._

***

Daichi heard Nishinoya before he saw him.

He stood with Suga just outside the doors of the Shatterdome, watching with mild interest as the various helicopters took off and landed and as vans and trucks full of equipment raced by.

Daichi watched as one of the helicopters lowered from the sky. “That’s them, isn’t it?”

“It seems so.” Suga’s voice was muffled by the heavy green scarf he had wrapped around his neck to ward off the December chill. “It’s going to be strange, isn’t it? Fighting as a two-Jaeger team.”

Daichi shrugged, inching towards him to try and leech some of his warmth. “I guess so. But the Jaeger’s are always developing, right? We need to develop with them. Besides, they’re rookies. They’re probably scared shitless. We need to look out for them.”

Suga huffed beside him. “Of course! I never meant that I wouldn’t,” he said with a pout. “Of course I’m going to welcome them and look out for them. It’s just…going to be strange, that’s all.”

Daichi chuckled, elbowing him in the ribs. “Of course I knew what you meant. Silly.”

Comfortable silence hung between them for a moment. “How old did the document say they were?”

“Not that young,” Daichi said. “It’s not like they need babying, or anything. Rather the opposite. One of them – Azumane-san, I think – is older than both of us. And Nishinoya-san, he’s a year younger than us.”

“But they’ve never been in a real fight before, right?”

“Mm.” Daichi dug his hands into his pockets. “But apparently their connection is nearly as strong as us, and their Jaeger is one of a kind. They’ll be fine. You don’t even know them, and you’re fussing already.”

“I am not!” Suga laughed, his breath fogging up in the morning air.

He was so concentrated on Suga, he barely noticed the two people climbing out of one of the helicopters.

“Whoaaa, look at this place!!! I mean, I’ve seen it on TV before, but it’s twice as awesome in real life!”

Daichi turned immediately. He knew from the photos on their pilot documents who this was, but he hadn’t expected him to be so…small.

Or so energetic.

He was like a tiny ball of energy, practically bouncing from the helicopter to them, jumping and pointing and yelling, all with a huge grin on his face.

Trailing behind him was Azumane, whom, Daichi was outraged to see, was taller than him. How was he meant to look like a proper senior when Azumane was both taller and older than him?

Azumane – Asahi, if Daichi remembered correctly – certainly looked rough around the edges; tall, muscular build, long hair, wisps of a beard on his chin, but he was trailing after Nishinoya, shouting apologies to those Nishinoya nearly ran over with his rambunctious energy.

“Well,” Daichi breathed. “They’re certainly…a duo.” He couldn’t help but smile.

“They’re definitely…” Suga struggled to find the right words. “Well. They do say opposites attract, right? And I guess one of the points of being drift compatible is that you round each other off, and make up for the other’s flaws…”

“Do you think people look at us like this?”

“Of course,” Suga said, without hesitation. “You’re the intimidating one, the one people shake their heads at and say, _watch out for that Sawamura, he looks like a troublemaker_! And I’m the one who everyone thinks _oh, that Sugawara-kun looks like a lovely kid_!”

Daichi scoffed, bumping his shoulder against Suga’s. “You’re a bully.”

Suga just stuck his tongue out at him.

At this point, Nishinoya had spotted them, whizzing over to where they stood. “Sawamura-san! Sugawara-san! Right?” He stood at his full height – which wasn’t very much – and saluted. “I’m Nishinoya Yuu, and I’m the strongest defense in the Jaeger Program!” Daichi and Suga exchanged a look. “I’m looking forward to fighting with you! Let’s kick kaiju ass together!” Nishinoya all but yelled, dropping to a ninety degree bow.

“Uhh,” Daichi began.

“Sorry,” Asahi was there now, too. Up close, he seemed even taller. Daichi scowled, and he practically shivered. “He probably seems very…rambunctious, but we’re a good team together, I swear! Uh, I’m Azumane Asahi.” He too, ducked into a bow.

Suga clucked his tongue against his teeth, smiling widely at them. “I’m Sugawara Koushi,” he said, “and this is Sawamura Daichi – but, uh, you already seem to know that.”

“Of course we know that!” Nishinoya bounced back up. “Everyone knows who you two are – you’ve one of the strongest neural connections recorded! Besides, you’re the youngest Jaeger pilots yet!” His smirk grew mischievous. “At least, you were. Now I’m gonna be the youngest pilot! And if you two don’t watch out, Asahi and I are going to surpass you!”

Daichi exchanged a glance with Suga, a smile growing on his lips. “Well, we’ve always liked a challenge,” he said, turning and heading back into the Shatterdome. “C’mon. Marshall Ukai wants to meet you.”

            ***

Their team worked together better than anyone had expected.

Crow King would move in first, meeting the kaiju head on, engaging it in battle and setting it up for the big attacks. Thunder Strike would swoop in and land a powerful attack, and go on the defensive while Daichi and Suga took over again. And the process would repeat itself, until they finally defeated the kaiju.

They were heroes; children bought trading cards with the faces of the pilots on them, teenagers plastered posters of them on their walls, people collected figurines of the Jaegers and of the kaiju, they were followed everywhere, pestered by civilians looking for autographs and photos from the heroes.

Daichi couldn’t say he liked the whole…commercialization of it. What they did was hard and dangerous, and while he was confident they were going to win, there was always a huge element of risk. One wrong move and they could die. There still were occasional losses – the Jaegers weren’t invincible, unlike what the people believed.

When he was in training, there wasn’t a single person in the graduating class that wasn’t wholly committed to this cause. Now, the cocky young rangers the Academy was beginning to produce had none of that drive.

Sure – definitely some of them had chips on their shoulders, there were definitely people among them who actually believed in fighting for humanity – but most of them were in it for the glory and the fame.

If it came down to a life or death situation, those committed to the Jaeger program would fight, and die if necessary. Daichi was prepared for it, Suga was prepared for it, and so were Asahi and Noya. Kids who were doing this for glory wouldn’t last ten seconds before bolting.

But…all in all, things weren’t too bad.

Asahi and Noya took a bit of getting used to, but Daichi would readily call them his best friends now. After Suga, of course – Suga was in a whole different league, he had his own special place in Daichi’s heart. They got on well together, and they fought well together.

Their work was hard but…satisfying. Daichi felt like he was actually doing something with his life – he was protecting the people from the kaiju. He was doing something worthwhile. And it was hard and exhausting – physically and mentally – and it was just plain terrifying a lot of the time, but every night he went to bed with a satisfied ache in his bones.

(he also felt that if his father was watching him right now, he’d be proud, but that was neither here nor there).

Things were far from perfect – in a perfect world, there would be no kaiju – but, still. He was pretty content, and that had to count for something, right?

            **November, 2021**

“Ready, Suga?”

“Of course I am. We’ve only been doing this for what – four years?”

Daichi suppressed a grin as the final preparations for the drift were made. “We killed our first kaiju in 2018,” he said, glancing to the man on his right. “Nearly four years.”

Suga gave him a smile. “Yes, but we’ve been drifting for longer.”

This time Daichi did grin. He smiled fondly at the memory. “I was eighteen during out first drift. I’m twenty three now. That’s quite a long time.”

“Twenty four in a few weeks,” Suga added.

Daichi looked ahead, feeling the nerves clench slightly in his stomach. Nerves were good – nerves kept him on his toes and kept him alert. As long as they weren’t overwhelming – and they were far from it – he would be fine.

He tuned out the babbling from Mission Control and asked again.

“Are you ready, Koushi?” his voice was softer this time.

“As ready as you are, Daichi.”

He closed his eyes, and they entered the drift.

A familiar rush of memories and feelings and thoughts later, and Daichi opened his eyes again, this time, his mind connected with Suga’s.

_“Crow King – move out!”_

“Yes, sir!” they barked.

They stormed out into the cool, dark waters, Thunder Strike following behind them. They could hear Noya’s voice filtering through the speakers – about how they were _gonna smash this bastard to pieces_ , and how he was so _ready to kick some kaiju ass_.

Daichi was torn between smiling at his optimism and telling him to concentrate. Instead, he went for a _“Don’t get cocky, Nishinoya.”_

A glance at the radar told him that the kaiju – codename Clawhook – was moving towards them – and moving fast.

He could feel Suga’s frown.

“Asahi, Noya…” Suga began. “This Clawhook is fast. Stay alert.”

With alarming speed, Clawhook raced through the waters.

“It’s right on top of us!” Daichi yelled, and they fell into a defensive stance just as the kaiju burst from the water.

They pushed any hint of fear or panic out of their minds, focusing on the task at hand and moving together, as one. Daichi raised his arm to block, but Clawhook was abnormally fast and moved under the swing, striking Crow King hard in the chest.

They stumbled back a bit, but Daichi refused to dwell on it. They needed to gain the upper hand.

Suga lashed out with a swing from the right, and as the kaiju dodged it – again, with that abnormal speed – Daichi caught it with a mean left hook from the other side. The beast let out a roar, falling back slightly and allowing them some room.

There was an uneasy feeling in their minds.

“Let’s end this,” Suga said quietly. “Asahi! Noya! Get ready!”

They moved forwards, lifting their great fists into the air before smashing them down on the kaiju. Dazed, they followed up with several sharp strikes, setting it right up for Thunder Strike. Injured, Clawhook tried to retreat and make some room to attack, when Nishinoya and Asahi descended on it.

Clawhook was quick, but so were they.

Asahi’s side reached out, grabbing the kaiju and pulling it closer while the arm on Noya’s side opened up, revealing one of their trump weapons. It was like the plasma cannon, except instead of plasma it relayed several strong, electric shocks.

“C’mon!” They could both hear Noya’s battle cry, loud and clear as he swooped in for the blow. The electricity was crackling all around the arm. “Rolling Thunder!”

But before he could discharge the electricity, Clawhook’s tail shot up between them, striking the head of the Jaeger hard. Thunder Strike loosened its grip on the kaiju slightly, and that was all the leeway it needed to move. It wrenched its arms free, one clawed hand striking Noya’s arm right at the junction where it connected to the shoulder. Clawhook’s sharp claws penetrated the steel and ripped, peeling huge sheets of metal away from the arm, destroying their cannon before they could fire.

Daichi and Suga watched in stunned silence, as their friends’ screams grew louder.

They both spurred into action at the same time, Suga activating the plasma cannon on his side.

“Asahi, Noya – stay calm, we’re coming for you—”

“We’ll get this bastard yet—”

Clawhook turned from Thunder Strike, towards Crow King, and did something neither of them expected.

It jumped into the air. Clean from the water, it jumped high, and landed full force on Crow King, smashing a clawed fist right through the Conn-Pod.

Suddenly, there was smoke and sparks and they were still connected to each other but not to their Jaeger, they were seeing Clawhook with their own eyes and not through the eyes of the Jaeger, it was _right there_ —

“Holy shit—” Daichi barely formed the words before he was moving, trying to rip this beast off of them but the fear and panic was rushing through their drift and they weren’t moving fast enough, and Clawhook was trying to push them underwater.

“We need to get out of here!” Suga was yelling. Daichi couldn’t agree more; the whole front of the Conn-Pod had been ripped away. If it wanted to, the kaiju could simply reach in and pluck them from where they stood. And if they were pushed underwater, the ocean would flood through the opening and they’d drown.

“We can’t leave Thunder Strike!” Daichi called in return, trying to think of something, of anything—

So many of the circuits had been damaged, and they no longer had contact with Mission Control.

Clawhook was off them now, but it wasn’t long before the kaiju’s teeth were embedded in their Jaeger’s right shoulder, pulling and wrenching while its claws dug into the sides. The pain was rippling between their minds, but it was no use, not like this; they had already sustained heavy damage, and while they could still connect to each other they couldn’t connect and control their Jaeger, not properly.

It was like trying to walk through a sandstorm; Daichi couldn’t see or hear properly, everything was whirling into one huge spiral of confusion—

He did notice when the right arm was torn right off, spat back out into the ocean, and Koushi was yelling and he could just about make out Thunder Strike moving towards them—

As well as being fast, one of the first things the scientists had picked up on Clawhook were its deadly sharp claws. They had been warned about them. Daichi wished he had taken more heed of the warning; he could feel just how effective they were when they ripped through the metal of the Jaeger’s torso, ripping circuits and metal and the insides straight out.

A few more blows like that, and then Crow King came to a shuddering halt. All of the lights went dark, the drift was cut short abruptly, and with a loud groaning it stopped moving altogether.

Clawhook pushed them down, and half of what was left of the Jaeger sank down under the waves. Thankfully, the Conn-Pod, where they were, stayed above the water.

There was a stunned sort of silence as they watched Clawhook engage Thunder Strike.

Daichi’s head was swimming. Thunder Strike used the cannon on Asahi’s side to shoot Clawhook. Their bodies were battered and bruised from all of the hits they took. For a moment, Thunder Strike seemed to gain the upper hand, but then Asahi had emptied the clip, and they needed time to recharge. This was always were Crow King would come in, holding off the enemy while they charged up.

Daichi’s head stung with a bitter headache – a result of the drift being cut short. “Koushi,” he croaked, glancing at Suga.

Clawhook smashed into Thunder Strike repeatedly, clawing out the machine’s insides and wrecking it.

“Asahi and Noya…” Suga’s voice cracked.

Soon, Thunder Strike too stopped moving, reduced to a husk in the water. Clawhook turned, heading towards the city.

“Daichi,” Suga’s voice was shaking. “We lost. We lost. What are we going to do?”

Daichi didn’t have an answer.

Crow King was…all but destroyed. The right arm was completely gone, there was a massive gaping hole in the head, the chest was just a huge cavity. They couldn’t fight, neither could Noya or Asahi – they were completely still, hell – Daichi wasn’t even sure if they were alive.

He could feel the tears prickling from his eyes.

“Daichi,” Suga said softly, raising a trembling hand to point towards the city. “Look.”

Clawhook was racing towards the city with that terrible speed. The only two Jaegers stationed at this Shatterdome were both currently out of commission, lying uselessly in the ocean.

The city was home to millions of people, thousands of individuals with hopes and dreams, who were all counting on them to protect them from the kaiju.

And they had let them down.

They had failed.

And now, how many of those people were going to die?

***

**Jaegers fail to defeat kaiju; hundreds dead**

_Yesterday evening, the kaiju_ Clawhook _attacked the Japanese coastline. Two Jaegers –_ Crow King _, piloted by the renowned Daichi Sawamura and Koushi Sugawara, and_ Thunder Strike _piloted by Asahi Azumane and Yuu Nishinoya – engaged the beast. It’s not clear what happened, but both of the Jaegers were defeated in battle, and for the first time in years, a kaiju made it onto Japanese land._

_Karasuno city – the city adjacent to the Shatterdome – suffered heavily from the attack. There isn’t an exact death toll yet, but already hundreds have been named dead, with more numbers missing, and even more people have been left homeless. The city is in ruins._

The Times _interviewed an expert on the matter, to seek their opinion._

“Although both of the Jaegers were virtually destroyed, none of the pilots were killed,” _said Russian pilot Aleksis Kaidonovsky._ “Many of us believe that in a fight with a kaiju, you kill it, or you die trying. Obviously these pilots don’t share the same opinions. They gave up too early, and as a result, their city was destroyed. I never would have labeled Sawamura and Sugawara as cowards, but apparently, I was wrong.”

_The recent defeat does call into question how strong the Jaeger Program is. It has been years since humankind has suffered a loss like this. Not only was Karasuno all but destroyed – two Jaegers were also destroyed. The kaiju was allowed to rampage until_ Midnight Blaster _, a Jaeger from the nearest Shatterdome was flown in to finish the job._

_The Jaeger Program claims to be stronger than the kaiju, but are they really? If humanity begins suffering huge losses like this, an alternative defense will have to be considered. The Jaeger Program has enjoyed years of success and fame, but now, we might be witnessing the tides turning._

***

They both lay in adjacent beds in the infirmary, staring up at the ceiling, neither speaking.

All four of them had been badly bruised and battered, but apart from Nishinoya’s broken wrist, none of them had been badly injured. That was something, at least. Daichi scratched the bandages around his elbow absent mindedly, trying to distract himself from his thoughts.

They had fucked up, so bad. Hundreds were dead. So much destruction and death, and it was their fault.

The media had been quick to point the finger of blame, and it was harder when everyone blamed you, not just yourself.

Suga was beside him, on the other bed. He had been quiet since they had been rescued from Crow King. They had barely said a word to each other. The silence was thick and heavy and uncomfortable between them, but Daichi didn’t know what he could say. They had both messed up, and now they had this…guilt on their shoulders. Nothing he said would change that.

There was a crash from outside the room. Daichi frowned, sitting up in his bed as Marshall Ukai entered the room. He hadn’t spoken to them since he chewed them out when they were rescued.

“Daichi. Asahi and Noya are…well. Being difficult. You should go down to them, as soon as possible. You know them well – you should try to help them.”

“Oh. Yes, sir.”

They both moved to get up out of bed, but Ukai raised a hand. “Not you, Sugawara. I want to have a word with you.”

Daichi tried to catch Suga’s eye, but he wasn’t looking his way. He left silently, making his way to Asahi and Noya’s room.

He couldn’t help but worry. It wasn’t often they were separated, and he wondered what Ukai had to tell Suga that Daichi couldn’t hear. Next time they entered the drift, he’d find out anyway.

The thought of drifting again brought a twinge to his gut.

How could they face another kaiju after failing so drastically again? How could they trust themselves with the lives of innocent people after they had been defeated?

Daichi frowned. He needed to do what every soldier had to do; push his troubles aside, focus on his task, and keep moving.

He hesitated outside their room. He could hear raised voices. Taking a deep breath, he entered without knocking.

The room was in disarray; their possessions and clothes strewn across the floor. Asahi stood with his back to Noya, an open suitcase lying in front of him. Noya stood behind him, his arm still in a cast, yelling furiously.

“You can’t leave now!” he was saying. “Asahi! You can’t leave just because we lost a fight!”

Asahi had the grace to look ashamed as he folded jeans into his suitcase. “I’m sorry, Noya – I can’t do this. We can’t do this – we tried, and we failed. We should let someone else take over now. We can’t do anything more for the Program.”

“What the hell is going on?” Daichi asked, frowning.

They both looked up, as if they had only noticed him. “Daichi-san!” Noya burst out, rushing towards him. “Asahi’s leaving! He’s quitting!”

Daichi felt as if his stomach had dropped through the floor. He looked slowly at Asahi.

Asahi hung his head.

“Is this true?” Daichi asked quietly.

Asahi was one of his best friends. He was extremely likeable, and usually reliable. Daichi made fun of him sometimes, but he valued him a lot – as a friend, as a partner, and as a teammate.

“I’m sorry, Daichi,” he said quietly. “But I know when to step down. We’ve fought well, haven’t we? And now, our time is over.” He looked up to meet his eyes, but didn’t hold contact for long. “I mean, there are plenty of newer, younger, stronger recruits. We all had a good run of it – you nearly have four years down, we nearly have three. But we lost – and look what happened! It’s time to step down.”

“So we messed up!” Noya burst out. “And a lot of bad things happened! But that means we should fight again! We should keep on fighting, and get stronger, and make up for our mistakes and redeem ourselves! It doesn’t mean we should give up!” Daichi hadn’t seen Noya like this before.

He looked at Asahi coolly. “So when the going gets tough, the tough get going?”

“I never claimed to be tough, Daichi.”

“So this is it? After how many years of training, you’re just giving up?”

“I’m not proud of this.”

Daichi sighed, running his hand through his hair. “Asahi, listen—”

“You need to listen, Daichi.” Asahi looked up. There was sadness in his eyes, but knowing that this was hard for him too was not making it any easier. “Everyone’s saying the Jaeger Program’s finished. That things are going to change.”

“Fuck what they say—” Noya added.

“Whether that’s true or not…it’s not up to us anymore. Do you think they’ll trust us in a Jaeger again? We don’t even have our own Jaegers anymore! Crow King and Thunder Strike are just scrap metal now—” Daichi inhaled sharply. “We’re finished, Daichi. You. Me. Noya and Suga. They’ve a whole new generation of pilots coming in. It’s time to…pass on the baton. It’s over for us.”

Daichi said nothing.

Asahi closed his suitcase. “I’ve already told Marshall Ukai my plans,” he said, standing up.

“Drift compatible,” Noya said. “Partners are meant to stick together, to support each other, to have each other’s backs until the end.” He was looking down, his fists clenched.

It felt like a small part of Daichi was being ripped away slowly. It was like taking a band aid off; if you pulled it quick, after a sharp sting the pain would fade. But this was happening slowly, more painfully, and he could feel it tugging on his heartstrings.

Asahi chuckled, but it sounded forced and painful. “C’mon, guys – this isn’t goodbye forever. I mean…things went to shit here. I need to get away for a while but it’s not like we’re never going to see each other again.”

Neither of them responded. Noya was wiping furiously at his eyes.

Asahi turned away to face Daichi. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I’ll see you around, Daichi. I’m going home.”

Daichi said nothing as Asahi left the room.

Noya cursed, turning and slamming his fist into the wall. “How can someone just accept defeat so easily?!” he yelled. “I…I can’t forgive that.”

He began to move out the door, but Daichi rested a hand on his shoulder.

“Noya,” he said softly. “Daichi’s going. And we both know there’s nothing we can do about that – for now. We need to give him some time, at least.”

“Damn it,” Noya hissed, flopping down on his bed. “Damn it!”

Daichi struggled to find the right words. Suga would know what to say in this situation, surely. He couldn’t think of anything.

“Asahi or no Asahi –” Noya bounced up again. “I’m not giving up. I’m going to get stronger, and find a new partner, and we’re going to slay every kaiju that comes out of the breach!”

He sat back down again, almost wearily. Noya was always so full of energy – Daichi had no idea how he did it, how he was so positive and energetic and bubbly and charismatic all the time – but now, he was like a firework that had fizzled out. He looked truly tired and drained as he slumped forward, and Daichi felt the strange mix of worry and sadness hit him even harder.

Their team was falling apart at the seams.

He wanted to find Suga.

He made his excuses to Noya before slipping out of the room, making his way back to where he hoped Suga would still be. It was times like this when Suga really was his pillar of strength. People looked up to Daichi and depended on him, and when Daichi needed someone to depend on, Suga was already there.

He slowly entered their room, where Suga was sitting on the bed.

Immediately, Daichi knew something was wrong.

Suga practically radiated bad vibes, and he was curled in around himself; his knees pressed to his chest and his arms curled around his legs, his shoulders hunched forwards.

“Koushi,” Daichi breathed, slowly slipping down to sit beside him. “Koushi, what happened?” He let one arm wrap around his best friend’s shoulders.

He remembered Marshall Ukai had wanted to speak with him alone – what could he have said to make him like this? Daichi’s large intestine was tying itself into knots.

Suga said nothing at first, instead just leaning into Daichi’s touch softly. There were tear tracks on his cheek, Daichi noticed, and he felt an overwhelming sadness envelope him. “Koushi,” he said, his voice a little sterner. “What happe—”

“You’ve heard about,” he said, his voice muffled against his chest. “All of the deaths. I became a pilot to protect people, because I know what it’s like, to hide in a shelter while your home is destroyed. I became a pilot to protect people from all of that…death and destruction. But we couldn’t even do that.”

“Koushi—”

“Two of my sisters are dead.”

Daichi felt as if he was punched in the stomach; the air was wrenched from his lungs.

“The twins.” Koushi’s voice cracked. “It shouldn’t matter, so many people are dead it shouldn’t make a difference, but—”

“Of course it makes a difference,” Daichi said softly. “They’re your family.”

Suga had four younger siblings; a brother and a sister, both a few years younger than them, and twin sisters who were only eight years old. Daichi had met them countless times – they were the sweetest little things he had ever encountered, all of Suga’s sweetness embodied in two precious, innocent little girls.

Daichi knew how much his family meant to Suga. Hell, everyone knew, but he had been inside his mind and felt all of Suga’s memories. His family was precious to him. And now, to think that his little sisters wouldn’t be there anymore…

Daichi’s gaze drifted up to the wall in front of them. Two drawings were pinned there. One of him, one of Suga, drawn messily in crayon. It had been a present from the two little girls the last time they had visited Suga’s home. Every time Suga was on the phone to his family, they always wanted to speak to Daichi, and demand that he would come visit soon. Only a few days ago they had been so alive, asking Daichi for piggybacks up and down the streets.

Daichi knew the sharp, familiar stab of loss – he had felt it when his father died, and although it lessened slightly he knew it never truly went away. And Suga’s wounds were wide open now.

“One of the other reasons I joined was to protect my family,” he choked out against Daichi’s chest. “I thought that if I fought the kaiju I could keep them safe. Look how wrong I was.”

Daichi closed his eyes, his own sorrow mixing with Suga as he held him tightly.

***

For the first time, they don’t have a strong connection when they drift.

It wasn’t like sinking into warmth and familiarity, but instead it felt like looking through cracked glasses, or walking through a blizzard.

The connection was still there, but they were both so weighed down with guilt and anger and grief and sorrow and worry and a hundred other things, it just didn’t work like it used to. It felt as if they were disconnected, as if with all this shit on their minds they couldn’t meld together as perfectly as they used to.

Daichi hated it.

***

They tried drifting together a few more times, and although it got easier, they made very little progress.

They just needed time, Daichi thought. Time to lick their wounds and heal before jumping back into the mouth of the beast.

***

Two weeks later, and they were both dismissed.

“We don’t want you to leave the Jaeger Program,” Marshall Ukai had said. “But we can’t put you in a Jaeger again. You’re neural handshake isn’t half its previous strength, and we’ve no Jaeger to put you in anyway. But we think that Mission Control would benefit greatly from someone with your leadership skills, Sawamura. And we think that the Jaeger Academy is lacking someone with enough experience. We want to send you out as an instructor, Sugawara.”

Asahi had said that this was the end of their piloting days. Daichi never guessed that he was right.

A week later, Suga left for the Jaeger Academy.

For the first time in years, they were away from each other for more than a few days. And there was no end in sight.

Suga was like…an open wound. Daichi couldn’t think about him without feeling the sharp memories of guilt and grief. And as much as he cared about him, once they were away from each other…they slowly stopped staying in contact.

It was like adapting to life without one of his limbs. You may as well have taken a part of Daichi’s heart and kept it locked away from him.

Marshall Ukai retired, his grandson quickly rising through the ranks and replacing him. Months passed, and none of them heard from Asahi. Daichi rarely heard from Suga. Nishinoya was determined to find another parter he could fight with, but hadn’t any luck so far. Daichi began to rise through the ranks himself.

Time trickled faster and faster through the hourglass. For every win against a kaiju, there was a defeat. For every victory, a death. The kaiju were getting stronger than them, and people were losing faith in the Jaeger Program. The Wall of Life project had been announced, Shatterdomes were closing one after the other, and the Jaeger Academy was all but nonexistent now, too.

Daichi had been right; the generation who had wanted to become pilots for the fame and fortune all bolted the moment they saw what this really was; a war, and not a game.

He realized it, one sleepless night;

This was the beginning of the end of the world.

Hm. He didn’t think it would be so slow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**June, 2024**

“G’morning, Marshall.”

“Good morning, Captain.”

Daichi blearily rubbed his eyes, taking a long drink of his morning coffee before glancing at the calendar on his desk. June. “How long ‘til we’re shut down?”

“Ten months.”

Daichi sighed.

“Chin up, Captain Sawamura,” Ukai chided. The original Marshall Ukai had been renowned for his strategies and his prowess, but Daichi definitely preferred his younger, more human grandson. “A lot can happen in ten months.”

“Not a lot can happen with only one functioning Jaeger in this Shatterdome.”

Keishin hesitated.

Daichi narrowed an eye. “Do you have something planned?” he asked suspiciously.

The older man shrugged. “We need more Jaegers, undoubtedly, so…the last few months there’s been a side project that you don’t know about. We took two Jaegers from the graveyard and restored them. We’ve a crowd of the last graduates from the Jaeger Academy coming this afternoon, and we’ll find two teams to pilot them.”

Daichi frowned. “Why wasn’t I told about this?”

“Honestly?” Ukai laughed. “I thought that you might be…less than enthused about it.”

“Why?”

“The two Jaegers we’ve restored…”

“What about them?”

“They’re Crow King and Thunder Strike.”

Daichi spluttered on his mouthful of coffee, leaning forward and thumping on his chest, coughing loudly. “What?”

“We’ve brought back Crow King and Thunder Strike to full working order. They’re going to be put into use again.”

It took a few moments for Daichi to process that. Crow King had so many memories tied to it – good, and terrible. But there was a part of him hugely relieved it wouldn’t spend the rest of their days rusting in a Jaeger graveyard.

“It has some modifications, of course. Stronger weapons. It’s faster. More power. It’s even stronger than it was when you piloted.”

There was silence for a few terse moments before Daichi smiled. “It’ll be good to see it in action again,” he said honestly.

Ukai seemed relieved with his reaction. “Good. Now; Shimizu and Sugawara are arriving in less than an hour with their top recruits. In the meantime, get Takeda to show you the Jaegers. I’ll see you later, Captain.”

Takeda was someone relatively new to this Shatterdome. He had worked as senior technician in the Shatterdome at Hong Kong, and had transferred here a few months ago. “This way, Captain,” he said, leading Daichi through the winding corridors already busy with the morning’s work.

Daichi was led to the back, where the huge repair rooms were. This was where Jaegers that suffered from heavy damage were restored, as opposed to the smaller repairs that were done up front, right beside the bays and ready to go should they be needed. Daichi felt his breath stolen from his lungs.

Crow King was grander than he remembered it. Bad memories were associated with the giant – after all, it was right there in the Conn-Pod where they had lost horribly. Daichi could practically see where the gaping hole had been torn in it.

But although there were bad memories, there were good ones too. Memories of drifting and fighting and winning, memories of times spent with Asahi and Noya and _Suga_.

Daichi found himself smiling.

“Will it be weird, seeing other people pilot it?” Takeda asked curiously.

Daichi didn’t dwell on that thought. “Yes,” he said. “But I’d rather see it in action than have it rusting in a scrapyard.”

Not for the first time, Daichi longed to be back in a Conn-Pod, fighting instead of giving orders safely from Mission Control. He sighed heavily.

***

Daichi saw him first.

There was a gaggle of fresh recruits being given the tour of the Shatterdome, and he was with them. He was with them, keeping them in line. He hadn’t changed much. Of course, he looked older, and more tired, and the muscles in his arms were more defined than they had been, but it was still Suga, still his Koushi, with his soft smile and warm eyes that hadn’t faded even after all these years.

Daichi felt his heart jump in his mouth.

Why hadn’t they made more of an effort to see each other, to keep in contact? He was sure Suga had missed him as much as Daichi missed him. It was like walking around with a hole in his heart, but facing each other meant facing all of the shit that had gone down that night.

And by the time he had finally gotten past it and accepted what had happened, it felt as if too much time had slipped by to make things right.

Still, Suga was the best friend he ever had. Nobody could ever replace your drift partner. He looked wistfully on for a few moments, but was called away before he was spotted.

Later on, Keishin Ukai told him that Takeda was showing Suga Crow King, and before he could change his mind, Daichi was making his way back to it.

Takeda and Suga both turned around when they heard his footsteps. Suga’s eyes widened, and he froze on the spot, as if unsure what to say. “Daichi…” he whispered breathlessly after a moment. He looked like he had seen a ghost.

“H-hi, Koushi.” Daichi’s palms were sweating.

Takeda looked from one to the other, before excusing himself. They were silent as he left, his footsteps ringing in the air.

And then suddenly, they were both racing towards each other.

Daichi wasn’t sure which one of them had moved first, but it didn’t matter as Suga flung his arms around his neck, pulling him close. Daichi’s hands were on his waist, and Suga made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob, and Daichi realized there was a prickling in his eyes that only meant one thing.

“I missed you,” he managed to get out.

Suga laughed into his shoulder. “I missed you too, idiot.”

Daichi was about to say something – he wasn’t sure what, but something along the lines of _we have so much to catch up on_ and _I’m never letting you out of my sight again_. But of course – the moment was ruined.

“Daichi-san! Suga-san!” He barely registered the sound of fast footfalls and a very familiar voice, when another body was on top of them, small arms wrapping around them both.

They stumbled from the weight, the three of them falling to the floor. He was glad, Daichi thought wildly, that none of his subordinates were around to witness this graceful reunion.

Suga’s voice was muffled. “Noya?”

Noya was on his feet first, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “It’s been too long!” he exclaimed, giving them both hands to their feet. “It’s been years since I’ve seen you, Suga, and although I’ve seen Daichi around – I haven’t seen the two of you together in so long!”

Daichi grinned. “Good to see you too, Noya. Any luck finding a partner yet?”

His face fell slightly, but Noya gave him a thumbs up, looking determined. “Not yet, but I’m not giving up! Suga brought a whole bunch of new recruits with him, I’m bound to be compatible with one of them!”

The smaller boy looked over to his right. “Whoa! Look at the old girl!” he said, craning his neck to look up at Thunder Strike. “I’ve missed her.” It was strange, seeing him so in awe.

Suga and Daichi exchanged a look, and Daichi’s gut twisted. It was beginning to feel like old times again.

“Uh, Captain?” Daichi looked over to the main doorway, where Takeda was standing. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but…Ukai sent someone down to see you.”

Daichi nodded. “Who is it?”

Takeda turned, gesturing with his hand. Slowly, another figure came out from behind the corner, scratching his neck awkwardly and looking firmly at his feet.

The three of them looked at him in stunned silence.

Daichi held his breath.

Nobody said anything for a second, until—

“Asahi?!” Noya said, his voice strangely quiet.

“Hello, Noya,” Asahi said timidly, gaze fixed on the floor.

Daichi swallowed hard.

“W-what are you doing here?” he asked. He had tried to prepare himself for seeing Suga again, and he saw Noya occasionally anyway – but Asahi? Why the hell was he even here?

Not that Daichi was complaining that much. He missed him too.

“Ukai sent for me,” the brunette said slowly. “He said he had an idea, and he wanted me to come out for a few days, at least.”

“And why did you come back? I thought you were finished…”

“I am!” Asahi insisted. “But…I figured I owed everyone enough to come and here him out.”

A mixture of emotions was whirling inside Daichi’s head, but inside that, a few thoughts began to whirr and suddenly everything clicked. He took a step back.

He almost laughed. “It’s obvious, isn’t it?” he said quietly.

The other three looked at him.

“I mean, the four of us, reunited for the first time in years, in front of our newly restored Jaegers? This is no coincidence.”

He met Suga’s gaze for a moment. The realization was dawning on his old friend too, it seemed.

Daichi turned, looking back up at Crow King. “They want us back fighting in the Jaegers.”

**Author's Note:**

> yoo  
> recently became volleyball trash and this has taken over my life, wtf  
> first time writing abt daichi or suga so im kinda nervous sweATS  
> pls tell me what u think! thank u for reading!!!!
> 
> [tumblr](http://gaaradical.tumblr.com/)   
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> [twitter](https://twitter.com/scharacters)


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